I am confused on where Huck and Jim are trying to go because I thought they were going North so that Jim could become free so he could work and earn enough money to buy his family; now they are going more South, so is that only because they have to go where the duke and the king go? When I compare the way Huck is now after meeting the two frauds to how he was in the beginning of the book, he is a completely different person; he knows what it takes to survive and he has instincts and tolerance for situations that in the long run save his life. If the duke and the king don't trust Huck or Jim because they think they are going to give them away as frauds, then why do the two men keep them around? They don't have any problem taking advantage of people and they are good at hiding things, so it doesn't make sense why they would keep them alive if they are threatened by Huck and Jim.
Huck was indecisive about what to do when he found out that the King and Duke had sold Jim to the Phelps. At first he thought about writing a letter but had two main reasons why he shouldn't. They were, "She'd (Miss Watson) be mad and disgusted at his rascality and ungratefulness for leaving her, and so she'd sell him straight down the river again; and if she didn't, everybody naturally despises an ungrateful nigger, and they'd make Jim feel it all the time, and so he'd feel ornery and disgraced." (Twain 212) He starts to think about Jim and what would he feel if he went back but then he quickly transitions to think about what people would think about him. His conscience was taking over and he didn't know what to do. He didn't know what was right of if he should even do the right thing. He struggled with this before in earlier chapters when he almost told the people checking their raft about Jim hiding in the bottom of the canoe. It's a situation we've seen Huck struggle with throughout the book and it really shows on pages 212-214. After he decided that he wouldn't write the letter he decided to pray for Jim like Miss Watson used to tell him to do. Although, he soon decided against that. In the end, he decides to just go and get Jim from the Phelps himself.
Huck also begins to realize that he believes there is someone looking out for him, looking out constantly, seeing the good deeds being done and the bad ones alike and I really like that Twain incorporated that aspect into his novel. Huck's life goes slightly haywire when he realizes that someone found Jim and took him to be a runaway slave, and it brings this moral battle to the front of Huck's mind that he has been avoiding successfully, throughout this novel until now. He views Jim as his only friend out on the water, but he also views Jim as his slave and if Jim is his slave, then, in Huck's mind, he doesn't really count as a person. I know, that sounds awful, but that was the mind set back then, that was how they thought. Huck also thinks the man upstairs will think poorly of him if he sets Jim free because he's another man's property. In this time period, this would be an easy decision to make, obviously, we would go get Jim, but the mindset of the time period is totally different. It's unbelievably hard to wrap our heads around the fact that one man is another man's property but that was the way back then, and it would put Huck in a bit of a tight spot, to steal a piece of property, but that piece of property is the only friend he has. I can totally understand Huck 's train of thought at that moment. Some main takeaways from this part of the novel are never underestimate the power of humanity and always be true to yourself no matter what comes about.
Huck was indecisive about what to do when he found out that the King and Duke had sold Jim to the Phelps. At first he thought about writing a letter but had two main reasons why he shouldn't. They were, "She'd (Miss Watson) be mad and disgusted at his rascality and ungratefulness for leaving her, and so she'd sell him straight down the river again; and if she didn't, everybody naturally despises an ungrateful nigger, and they'd make Jim feel it all the time, and so he'd feel ornery and disgraced." (Twain 212) He starts to think about Jim and what would he feel if he went back but then he quickly transitions to think about what people would think about him. His conscience was taking over and he didn't know what to do. He didn't know what was right of if he should even do the right thing. He struggled with this before in earlier chapters when he almost told the people checking their raft about Jim hiding in the bottom of the canoe. It's a situation we've seen Huck struggle with throughout the book and it really shows on pages 212-214. After he decided that he wouldn't write the letter he decided to pray for Jim like Miss Watson used to tell him to do. Although, he soon decided against that. In the end, he decides to just go and get Jim from the Phelps himself.
Huck also begins to realize that he believes there is someone looking out for him, looking out constantly, seeing the good deeds being done and the bad ones alike and I really like that Twain incorporated that aspect into his novel. Huck's life goes slightly haywire when he realizes that someone found Jim and took him to be a runaway slave, and it brings this moral battle to the front of Huck's mind that he has been avoiding successfully, throughout this novel until now. He views Jim as his only friend out on the water, but he also views Jim as his slave and if Jim is his slave, then, in Huck's mind, he doesn't really count as a person. I know, that sounds awful, but that was the mind set back then, that was how they thought. Huck also thinks the man upstairs will think poorly of him if he sets Jim free because he's another man's property. In this time period, this would be an easy decision to make, obviously, we would go get Jim, but the mindset of the time period is totally different. It's unbelievably hard to wrap our heads around the fact that one man is another man's property but that was the way back then, and it would put Huck in a bit of a tight spot, to steal a piece of property, but that piece of property is the only friend he has. I can totally understand Huck 's train of thought at that moment. Some main takeaways from this part of the novel are never underestimate the power of humanity and always be true to yourself no matter what comes about.